Victor G. Bezchastnov

Once-ionized Helium in Superstrong Magnetic Fields

It is generally believed that magnetic fields of some neutron stars, the so-called magnetars, are enormously strong, up to 1014-1015 G. Recent investigations have shown that the atmospheres of magnetars are possibly composed of helium. We calculate the structure and bound-bound radiative transitions of the He+ ion in superstrong fields, including the effects caused by the coupling of the ions internal degrees of freedom to its center-of-mass motion. We show that He+ in superstrong magnetic fields can produce spectral lines with energies of up to ≈3 keV, and it may be responsible for absorption features detected recently in the soft X-ray spectra of several radio-quiet isolated neutron stars. Quantization of the ions motion across a magnetic field results in a fine structure of spectral lines, with a typical spacing of tens of electron volts in magnetar-scale fields. It also gives rise to ion cyclotron transitions, whose energies and oscillator strengths depend on the state of the bound ion. The bound-ion cyclotron lines of He+ can be observed in the UV-optical range at B 1013 G, and they get into the soft X-ray range at B 1014 G.

Bound states of negatively charged ions induced by a magnetic field

We analyse the bound states of negatively charged ions which were predicted to exist because of the presence of a magnetic field by Avron et al. We confirm that the number of such states is infinite in the approximation of an infinitely heavy nucleus and provide insight into the underlying physical picture by means of a combined adiabatic and perturbation theoretical approach. We also calculate the corresponding binding energies which are qualitatively different for the states with vanishing and non-vanishing angular momentum. An outlook on the case of including center of mass effects is presented.

Theory of magnetically induced anions

A general quantum theory is presented for unconventional anionic states supported by the presence of an external magnetic field. The theory applies to atomic anions and allows for straightforward extensions to anions formed in magnetic fields by other species, e.g., by clusters or small molecules. A special focus of the theory is on the coupling of the anions motion across the magnetic field to the motion of the attached electron. Neglecting this coupling, the magnetically induced anionic states are known to constitute an infinite manifold of bound states. In reality, the number of bound anionic states is finite. Typically, the quantized motion of the anion in the field results in sequences of excitations. These might include, depending on properties of the anion and on the magnetic field strengths, a few or a substantial number of states. Explicit results obtained by quantum ab initio calculations are presented and discussed on bound states and radiative transitions for some experimentally relevant atomic anions.

Nonadditivity and anisotropy of the polarizability of clusters: Relativistic finite-field calculations for the Xe dimer

We present all-electron relativistic studies of the polarizability properties of the Xe dimer. The studies rely on finite-field calculations of the dimer energies obtained by ab initio methods including electron correlations. An extended set of basis functions is designed in order to ensure a high accuracy of the calculations. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the nonadditivity and anisotropy of the polarizability of the dimer. It is found that the polarizability of the dimer relative to that of the atoms can be accurately described analytically, at least for internuclear distances around and larger than the equilibrium distance of the dimer.

Magnetically induced anions

We study non-conventional states of singly negatively charged ions which are supported exclusively due to the presence of an external magnetic field and have no counterparts in the field-free space. Such states experience a significant impact due to the motional effects of an anion as an entity across the magnetic field. We briefly outline the physical insight and the state-of-the-art concerning the magnetically bound anions.